How A Little Known Pro-Gun Lobby Is Derailing Bipartisan Attempts At Gun Control Legislation

A little known pro-gun lobby that’s well to the right of the
National Rifle Association has complicated efforts to reach a
solution on gun control legislation, top Democrats have said in
recent days.

The Gun Owners of America has been around for decades, operating
mostly in obscurity, dwarfed by the lobbying and fundraising
prowess of the NRA. The group’s big gripe is that the NRA is too
squishy and willing to compromise, and its recent efforts to
scuttle gun control legislation appear to be scaring away
Republicans amenable to background checks.

The results have frustrated Democrats trying to strike a
bipartisan deal.

“The NRA — their lobbying efforts are being pushed even further
to the extreme by virtue of the fact that there’s another
organization called Gun Owners of America,” Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) told Nevada Public Radio on Friday.
“Whenever the NRA tries to be reasonable, the Gun Owners of
America becomes more unreasonable, and it pushes the NRA [to the
right].”

GOA is proud of its obstinacy against gun control. In
a New
York Times profile of the group last week, its executive
director Larry Pratt took credit for scaring away Sen. Tom
Coburn (R-OK) from discussions with Sen. Chuck
Schumer (D-NY) about a bipartisan compromise on expanding
background checks for gun purchases.

“His staff admitted that it kind of irritated the senator,” Pratt
told the paper. “We were told, ‘He’s getting tired of this.’ But
when we hear complaints like that, we know we are close to
success. We are happy he changed his mind.” He said GOA mobilized
its proclaimed 300,000 pro-gun members to inundate GOP lawmakers
with phone calls.

Schumer’s spokesman Brian Fallon took note of Gun Owners of
America’s role in the debate, tweeting a
link to the Times profile and saying the group “is making deal on
even background checks extremely hard.”

Less clear is the extent to which Gun Owners of America is the
true foe of expanded background checks, rather than a scapegoat
for Senate Democrats who are facing potentially tough reelection
battles in red states and are skittish about supporting any
significant new gun restrictions. For now, negotiations over
background checks continue, as Democrats are now seeking to win
over Sen. Pat Toomey’s (R-PA) support for a compromise deal.

Meanwhile, the Gun Owners of America is flexing its muscle in
first major gun control effort in nearly two decades. Prominently
featured on the front page of GOA’s website is a quote from
Ron Paul
calling the group “the only no-compromise gun lobby in
Washington.”